Statistics is a branch of mathematics that involves making sense of data.

Data are
quantities obtained from some type of systematic observation. Presented as a list of
numbers, data are difficult to comprehend. By using statistical techniques,
researchers work with data to organize, categorize, condense, summarize, describe,
illustrate, analyze, compare, synthesize, evaluate, and infer.
Whether you intend to employ qualitative methods or quantitative methods or
mixed methods to investigate the research questions for your dissertation, you will
encounter statistics in several contexts. The obvious application of statistics that
you may encounter is the need to use statistics for data analysis in your
quantitative or mixed methods study. Perhaps you are not planning to employ
quantitative methods - what is the value of this course for qualitative researchers? If
your study involves a group of participants, you may find it helpful and informative
to describe your participants' characteristics. To help your reader understand your
participants' context, you might also find it useful to describe the characteristics of
the setting for your study. These examples represent the producer role of using
statistics.
Statistical techniques are used to organize and analyze data, where data are
unambiguous quantifications of observed phenomena (i.e., a regular way of
assigning numbers to certain events or characteristics). In addition to organizing
and analyzing data, statistical techniques include methods for illustrating the results
of the statistical analysis. The prime example of this use of statistics involves the
creation of graphical displays of information using charts and graphs. Not only is a
picture worth a thousand words, it's worth even more numbers. Through these
analyses and graphics, trends and other patterns may emerge that help researchers
and others understand and explain phenomena in nature.
The Importance of Statistics
My ideal world: All educated citizens
should be able to answer those and
similar questions by the time they
graduate from secondary school.
Basic literacy in statistics and probability
does not require advanced mathematics.
How do We get there